ROOTED IN TRADITION AND MUSIC

What sets Jonita Gandhi apart is her unique blend and her approach to western classical music

- CHINMAY CHAUDHARY

WHAT MADE YOU opt for a career in singing? What got you into music? Can you tell us about your journey?

I have always been interested in music because my dad is a musician by hobby. I grew up in a house where music has beenan essential part. My dad used to practice the keyboard, he also played the guitar a little bit. I had music playing around me always. It is something that I enjoyed all the time, while I was studying during weekends or while travelling. We would have family jam sessions, my brother would also play the tabla, everyone was interested in music so growing up I had that influence. It was only in the high school that I began to take music seriously. I began to do gigs and started to perform in plays. It became a part-time job for me. It slowly became a part of who I was. In school and in university, all my extracurricular activities were always music related. Eventually I started making videos.

How do you describe the music that you usually create? Which artists are you inspired by? When you were growing up what was your inspiration to look forwards towards singing?

I have grown up in Toronto, we were exposed to people from different places from the world. When I was in school, I was influenced to what my friends were listening as well and obviously the music that was playing at home and on the radio. There was a really wide range of different genres. I grew up singing Indian music along with a whole lot of other languages and styles as well.